21/22 Kings Seasons In Review – Partial Seasons

Back at it, Insiders!

Our last set of grouped reviews comes with those who played a partial season due to either injury or trade. The Kings were naturally a team that suffered an immense total of injuries this season, limiting several members of the team to just a partial season in 2021-22.

A look at six of those players here below –

Lias Andersson
NHL Statline – 20 games played, 1 goals, 1 assists, -7 rating, 12 penalty minutes
AHL Statline – 4 games played, 6 goals, 0 assists, +2 rating, 2 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 47.3% (-5.6%), SCF – 43.1% (-9.4%), HDCF – 44.7% (-8.7%)

Lias Andersson was a player who finished the 2020-21 season with momentum. He established a place in the lineup over the last 10 or so games, developed a good report with Gabe Vilardi and looked to head into training camp on a positive note. He did carry that momentum into the fall and was one of the earliest proofs of concept of what the Kings were trying to do on the forecheck this season, as perhaps the most noticeable forechecker during exhibition games. Andersson had earned a spot on the opening night roster, on the third line with Vilardi and Vladimir Tkachev, but saw that opportunity taken away due to injury.

Andersson returned to action for three games in late-October and early-November, before he saw his injury flare up again. By the time he was healthy, the season was two months deep and everyday game time was a competition as others had cemented roles. Andersson saw action in ten games between November 24 and January 8, but suffered another injury, which cost him nearly two months of game action. After four dominant games in the AHL on a conditioning loan, Andersson featured sporadically down the stretch in a fourth-line role, contributing a huge shootout goal in a win over Calgary in late-March.

As is a prevalent theme with those who did not establish a full-time role with the Kings, consistency was hard to come by for Andersson. Injury prevented him from truly finding a routine and once he was finally healthy, the spot he won during training camp had been filled by others who stepped up.

When in the lineup, Andersson was a high-event player at times, ranking towards the top of the list in chances against and in the middle to upper-middle in terms of chances for. Andersson had the lowest PDO amongst players with 20 or more games played, accounting for some of the drastic skew between goals for/against and expected. A season in many ways that left you wondering what could have been had much of it not been impacted by injuries.

2022-23 Status – Andersson signed a one-year contract last offseason and is a restricted free agent for the Kings this offseason, one of 13 players in that boat.

Andersson, were he to re-sign with the Kings, would find himself in a similar position to training camp in the fall – with an opportunity to earn a roster spot. He has versatility, in that he can play both center and wing, and beat out others this past season to earn that spot. He’d have the same task, though against a more crowded group, in the fall.

Andreas Athanasiou
NHL Statline – 28 games played, 11 goals, 6 assists, +7 rating, 4 penalty minutes
NHL Playoff Statline – 6 games played, 1 goal, 0 assists, -5 rating, 4 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 49.4% (-5.6%), SCF – 51.3% (-3.7%), HDCF – 50.7% (-2.2%)

If we have a season impacted by injury with Andersson than we have a season REALLY impacted by injury with Andreas Athanasiou.

Athanasiou’s longest stretch of consecutive games played was eight, nine if you include the regular season and postseason combined. From training camp on, Athanasiou returned to the lineup on six occasions, whether via an injury or a coaches decision. In the six games he returned to action, Athanasiou tallied five goals and seven points, contributing and finding a way to produce offensively immediately off of an injury, in a way that very few players were able to do.

Athanasiou’s gifts are evident to anyone who has watched him. Speed and skill. He was one of just a few Kings players capable of impacting a game at the snap of the fingers. His ability off the rush, to generate scoring chances out of nothing, were evident. Looking by the numbers, few players produced on an individual basis at Athanasiou’s level. On a per/60 basis, Athanasiou ranked in the Top 5 on the roster in goals scored, shot attempts and scoring chances created. That was individual impact and on a per/60 basis, though.

The negatives to the season were availability and consistent production. Per/60 was required because Athanasiou played in just 28 of 82 games this season, mostly due to injury. He also falls down the list when you switch from individual accumulation to team accumulation, though take that as you will.

Todd McLellan frequently referred to Athanasiou as one of the most talented players he’s ever coached. That’s not particularly debatable and the eye-test matches the assessment. It’s about putting it together consistently and turning that into consistent production.

2022-23 Status – Athanasiou is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, after he signed his second consecutive one-year contract with the Kings on the opening day of free agency last summer.

Athanasiou’s case is an interesting one, both in terms of cap hit and contract length. He’s been a 30-goal scorer and his production this season, over 82 games would have been 32 goals and 53 points. Pretty good totals. Playing the 82 games though, even at those rates, was the issue this past season. An interesting one to watch for come free agency.

Quinton Byfield
NHL Statline – 40 games played, 5 goals, 5 assists, -7 rating, 20 penalty minutes
NHL Statline – 2 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, -2 rating, 4 penalty minutes
AHL Statline – 11 games played, 4 goals, 2 assists, +0 rating, 10 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 49.5% (-6.4%), SCF – 51.2% (-4.0%), HDCF – 51.2% (-1.9%)

Quinton Byfield’s time away came in the first half of the season. The teenager had a strong preseason and was on track to make the opening-night roster for the first time in his NHL career, before he suffered a fractured ankle during the final game of the exhibition season. Byfield’s injury cost him two months of action, before he was finally able to return in early-December, playing games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

COVID and rehabilitation kept him in the AHL for around a month, with five scoreless games followed by six points (4-2-6) from his final six games played. Those proved to be his final AHL games of the season, with an NHL recall following his final game on January 17 and his season debut with the Kings on January 20.

Byfield’s 40 games in the NHL during the regular season, and two in the postseason, came with their share of ups and downs. His season debut against Colorado was electric, showcasing the size, skating and ability with the puck that led to Byfield’s selection as a second-overall draft pick. His game on Long Island later in the month, when he scored his first-career NHL goal, was a treat as well. In spurts, we saw those flashes across his 40 games, but we didn’t see them on a consistent basis. Such is the case for many, if not most, young players transitioning to the NHL level.

Byfield’s numbers in many ways paint a low-event player this season, ranking towards the bottom of the roster in attempts and chances created on a per/60 basis, but rarely at the top of the list in terms of most chances allowed at the same time. As noted in the last article with Rasmus Kupari, it’s good to see a young player able to work out his kinks, and grow, without hurting the team, but at the same time, Byfield is a player who is expected to become more than a low-event, doesn’t hurt you player. His potential is that of an impact center, who can not only not hurt you, but help you to drive play. With one of the heaviest skewed totals in terms of offensive-zone starts, seeing more creation offensively from Byfield, amongst other young players, is an area of growth heading into next season.

The hope for Byfield will be that he can command one of the team’s center positions next season, with one up for grabs next to Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault and Blake Lizotte, who are all on multi-season deals. Seeing more of those impact nights on a more consistent basis will be where the organization hopes Byfield can stride to. Under normal circumstances, Byfield would likely have had a different path than the one he’s on, so with 89 professional games to his name, he’s already ahead of schedule in that department.

2022-23 Status – Byfield saw the first season of his entry-level contract kick in here in 2021-22, meaning he is now under contract through the 2023-24 season, with two years left on his deal.

Byfield will be firmly in the mix for either the third or fourth line center position in training camp, currently the top candidate for that position at this time. He’ll need to have a strong camp to stake claim on that job, with the hopes that he can progress to give the Kings one of the deepest groups of centers in the league in 2022-23.

Alex Edler
NHL Statline – 41 games played, 3 goals, 16 assists, +18 rating, 34 penalty minutes
NHL Statline – 7 games played, 0 goals, 2 assists, +4 rating, 14 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 56.9% (+5.8%), SCF – 54.9% (+5.0%), HDCF – 58.9% (+10.6%)

In so many ways, you couldn’t have asked for much more than you got this season from the one-year contract signed by Alex Edler this past offseason.

Edler joined the Kings in July, the first time in his NHL career he played anywhere besides Vancouver. It’s important to break Edler’s season into two separate segments, but both of those segments prove his worth in a variety of different ways.

From the beginning of the season through Edler’s broken ankle in December, he was one of the NHL’s best defensemen from a puck possession standpoint. Edler ranked fourth in the league in CF%, a Top-20 defensemen in SCF% and a Top-15 defenseman in HDCF%. Looking strictly at attempts and chances for in that span, Edler was in the NHL’s Top 5 in shot attempts, scoring chances and high-danger chances for. Incredible value on the one-year contract he signed, providing a reliable and effective defenseman in the absence of Drew Doughty.

Fast forward to March – the Kings were without all six defensemen from Opening Night. Edler had been rehabbing and returning to skating, but he was still a bit of time away from what should have been his route of recovery, but it didn’t stop him from approaching Todd McLellan and asking to play, ahead of schedule, to help the team. A selfless act, doing anything he could to get back into the lineup well ahead of schedule, in order to do what he could to help during a time of need for the organization.

Where did he rank in chances for categories, after he came back from injury? Top 6 in shot attempts, scoring chances and high-danger chances for. Same as pre-injury. Not much more you need to say on that one. When Edler was on the ice this season, the Kings possessed the puck much more frequently than not.

2022-23 Status – As noted, Edler signed a one-year contract with the Kings in the summer as an unrestricted free agent, and will be an unrestricted free agent again come July.

Edler was never pegged as a long-term solution with the Kings, as a 35-year-old when he signed, but his fit with the organization was great. Another short-term arrangement could benefit both parties, though the Kings also may want to try and find a longer-term solution while Edler could want something different as well as he pursues a Stanley Cup. To be seen, but the 2021-22 marriage proved to be a successful one regardless of how you break it down.

Brendan Lemieux
NHL Statline – 50 games played, 8 goals, 5 assists, +1 rating, 97 penalty minutes
NHL Playoff Statline – 7 games played, 1 goal, 0 assists, -1 rating, 18 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 57.0% (+3.5%), SCF – 57.0% (+4.6%), HDCF – 56.0% (+4.4%)

Brendan Lemieux was acquired midseason last year, during a weird, COVID-impacted season. It took him some time to settle in, but by camp in the fall, Lemieux was settled and was saw the type of game that he had to offer.

First things first, Lemieux was one of the best possession players on a very good possession team. Lemieux ranked inside the team’s Top 3 in CF%, SCF% and HDCF% amongst regular forwards, all while posting the best single-season metrics of his NHL career. Forming a line with Blake Lizotte and Arthur Kaliyev, Lemieux posted a very strong possession season on the fourth line, showing his ability to contribute in a variety of ways beyond just what you might expect from his style of play.

From a raw production standpoint, Lemieux ranked fourth on the Kings in goals per/60, averaging just under one, with only the high-scoring duo of Adrian Kempe and Phillip Danault, as well as Andreas Athanasiou who posted strong numbers in a short sample size, ranking higher. Lemieux provided timely and important goals, despite his role in the lineup not necessarily being tailored around that part of his game.

For better or for worse, Lemieux brought his own style to the Kings. For better, he was the first to stand up for his teammates, with a willingness to mix things up or drop the gloves in defense of say Lizotte. He played on the edge and for the most part, stayed on the right side of it while antagonizing his opposition in the process. There were a few times, however, where that style got Lemieux or the Kings in trouble, with a few bad penalties and a five-game suspension impacting his season.

2022-23 Status – Lemieux is a restricted free agent this summer, and would need either a qualifying offer from the Kings, or a negotiated contract outside of that, to return next season.

Assuming that happens, Lemieux brings a unique skillset to the organization, with physicality, toughness and a willingness to play on the line apart of his game, all complemented by terrific possession metrics and eight goals from 50 games in a fourth-line role. Those traits are not necessarily shared elsewhere in the organization and Lemieux was a good fit alongside Blake Lizotte and Arthur Kaliyev when together this season.

Troy Stecher
NHL Statline – 29 games played (13 w/ LAK, 16 w/ DET), 1 goals, 2 assists, -7 rating, 13 penalty minutes
NHL Playoff Statline – 4 games played, 2 goals, 2 assists, +4 rating, 0 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 52.8% (+2.3%), SCF – 49.8% (+1.0%), HDCF – 54.1% (+5.2%)
*NHL Statline is combined between LAK and DET. Possession metrics and relative percentages shows are LAK only, not including DET*

Troy Stecher proved to be exactly what the Kings needed, at the time they needed him. At the trade deadline, in late-March, the Kings had a rash of injuries to each of their six defensemen from opening night. Alex Edler had returned to the lineup by that point, but the other five defensemen who played on opening night were out with injury, putting the Kings in an interesting position.

In a playoff spot, they knew they needed veteran help to get in, but they didn’t want to mortgage future assets just to make the playoffs. Stecher, acquired for a seventh-round draft pick, proved to be the common middle ground. Stecher had four years worth of familiarity with Alex Edler and had more than 300 games to his name when he joined the organization. Acquired for minimal cost, Stecher gave the Kings what they needed, when they needed it.

Come the postseason, Stecher was not in the Game 1 lineup. Looking at a 2-1 series deficit, however, with the Kings conceding 14 goals from Games 2 and 3 combined, Stecher was inserted for his defensive game and experience, but wound up being the offensive boost the team needed, scoring in Games 4 and 5, finishing the series with four points from four games played.

Stecher’s time with the Kings was remarkably high-event. He was towards the top of every column, both for and against. High-danger chances for? No one higher than Stecher. Shot attempts against? No one higher than Stecher. Not necessarily the player the Kings may have expected, but Stecher gave the Kings what they needed and there’s something to be said for that.

2022-23 Status – Stecher was acquired in March from the Detroit Red Wings on an expiring contract, making him an unrestricted free agent come July.

RHD is perhaps the deepest position in the organization at the NHL level. With five players signed already, or under team control, with NHL experience, there isn’t a ton of room on the right side moving forward, though Stecher’s positive impact in his time here should be mentioned. Never know what could happen between now and then with a player who was a good option for the Kings down the stretch.

Sean Walker
NHL Statline – 6 games played, 0 goals, 2 assists, -1 rating, 4 penalty minutes
Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 56.6% (+4.7%), SCF – 54.3% (+4.3%), HDCF – 55.9% (-5.0%)

Sean Walker presents perhaps the most challenging, yet easiest, season in review to complete. Hardest in the sense that he suffered a season-ending injury in October and has not played since. It’s hard to remember those games as a whole and even harder to specifically remember how Sean Walker played. It’s also easy, in the sense that we can just about cap the section there.

Walker’s injury was a big loss for the Kings, coming in the game following Drew Doughty’s injury. It left the Kings reeling, down two defensemen six games into the season, though the team eventually recovered with others stepping up and stepping in.

At this time, Walker’s recovery process is ongoing, with General Manager Rob Blake saying he’s exactly where he should be on the timeline. He’s continued skating on his own into the summer, with the expectation he will be ready to go for training camp come September.

2022-23 Status – Walker signed a long-term contract in advance of the 2020-21 season and now has two seasons remaining on his four-year extension.

Assuming a fully healthy return, expect to see Walker back in the mix on the blueline come training camp. The emergence of others makes you almost forget that Walker’s skating and puck-moving abilities earned him a four-year extension and make him a very valuable part of the blueline. He also has the ability to play on the left side, with his presence on one or the other a likelihood come camp, assuming he’s back at full strength.

That’s it for the group evals, Insiders!

Starting with the goaltenders, then going into the forwards and the defensemen, we’ll take a look through the individual seasons of everyone not yet mentioned with the good and the bad from each of their 2021-22 campaigns.

Quick and Petersen to start things off next week!